Edwin Hicks Jada Raphael Jordan Stewart Tye Shabazz

  Persians based their empire on tolerance and diplomacy  They relied on a strong military to back up the policies  Ancient Persia included what today is Iran The Rise of Persia

  Fertile Farmland  Wealthy in minerals (copper, lead, gold, sliver, gleaming blue lapis lazuli)  Two major powers formed: Medes and Persia  Persia will eventually take over Medes and found a huge empire The Persian Homeland

 The Persian Empire

  In 550 B.C., Cyrus, Persia’s king began to conquer several neighboring kingdoms.  Cyrus conquered kingdoms creating an empire that spanned 2,000 miles  Cyrus was a military genius whose legacy was his method of governing: - kind towards conquered people - believed in honoring local customs and religions - allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem  Was killed as he fought nomadic invaders on eastern border Cyrus the Great Founds and Empire

  After Cyrus was killed, the task of unifying conquered territories fell to rulers that followed Cyrus.  They succeeded by combining Persian control with local self-government. Persian Rule

  Cyrus died in 530 B.C. His son Cambyses expanded the Persian Empire by conquering Egypt.  Cambyses downfall was not following in his father footsteps, instead scorned the Egyptian religion.  Cambyses rule was over in 8 short years, he died. Rebellions broke out across the empire.  Darius successor of Cambyses, began as an elite soldier of the king. He spent his first 3 years restoring order in the empire, later he established an efficient administration  After restoring order Darius worked on conquest. He led armies to Afghanistan and to the river valleys of India.  He expanded the Persian empire over 2500 miles, his only failure was the inability to conquer Greece. Cambyses and Darius

  During the rein of Darius, he divided the land into provinces. Provinces were similar to who and were the people came from.  Within the provinces, - freedom of religion - freedom of language - freedom of own laws  Darius installed a governor called “satraps” to rule locally. He also elected a military leader, and tax collector for each province.  Two other tools helped Darius keep the empire together. - system of roads : allowed easy communication - manufacturing metal coins: made everyone share one currency though out the whole empire. Provinces and Satraps

  During the 2,500 years since the 1 st Sumerian city- states had been built, the people of the Fertile Crescent endured war, conquest, and famine.  These events gave rise to the question: Why should so much suffering and chaos exist in the world?  A Persian prophet named Zoroaster offered an answer. The Persian Legacy

  Zoroaster was a Persian prophet who lived around 600 B.C.  Zoroaster taught that the Earth is a battleground where a great struggle between spirt of good and evil is fought  Zoroastrian religion teaches belief in one god, Ahura Mazda. Traces of the religion can be found in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.  After Muslim conquest of Persia in the A.D. 600s, the Zoroastrian empire declined.  Zoroastrian was an important influence of development of Manichaeism.  Today Zoroastrians continue to observe the religion’s traditions in several countries. Zoroaster’s Teachings

  Persians brought political order to Southwest Asia. They preserved ideas from earlier civilizations and found new ways to live.  Respect for other cultures helped to preserve those cultures for today.  The powerful dynasty of Cyrus established in Persia lasted for 200 years and grew into an empire. Political Order